The Drop

The ubiquitous compound, consisting of two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen in every molecule, supports our very existence and safeguards our world and all inhabitants that call earth their home.

Water is important – we recognize this axiom.

Do we understand our responsibility to that truth?

In our reality, we are facing profound and complex questions of who will share the clean water? the fresh air? and nutritious food?

We are a global community with global agendas that will demand our full participation and collaboration.

We can count on artists to signal a call to action. Along the Vancouver Seawall that passes by Vancouver Convention West, “The Drop” stands tall, a forceful reminder that life is embedded in drops of water

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25 thoughts on “The Drop”

Such a timely post as Southern California is now in the midst of another year of horrible drought. It has been in hovering around 80F for several weeks now with no sign of rain in the forecast. Poor California!

I have been closely following California’s drought and Capetown’s unfolding water crisis. What happens in one part of the world, happens to us all. In 2015, Vancouver experienced severe water restrictions, which was a call to action for many in the city. It was a shock to many that our “limitless” water had limits. It was a defining moment.

What a stunning tribute to this most essential of elements. How easy it is to take water for granted in our privileged world, and how wrong to do so. Thank you for showcasing this vital dialogue. “It is life, I think, to watch the water. A man can learn so many things.”
― Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook

I love that quote, Liz. Canada has an abundance of fresh water. In fact, we have been told that we have a whopping 20% of the world’s fresh water. If you look a little deeper into that number @ http://www.canada.ca. the amount of accessible water is 7% of the global supply of renewable. The rest is considered “fossil water” which is retained in lakes, underground aquifers, and glaciers. Even so, with our low population, we have more than most countries. In past years, we have seen water restrictions in Vancouver which has an abundance of rainfall, especially during the winter. Water restrictions are something that I would never have considered possible 30 years ago. Perhaps I’ve become more enlightened over the years and understand the danger of global water shortages. I agree wholeheartedly – it is always easy to take water for granted.

A beautiful tribute to this life-giving element – the positioning of the sculpture is superb and its blue hues and startling shape are just mesmerising. Thank you so much for sharing, Rebecca! 😀 BTW, a wonderful serene video – it was only on the second viewing that I realised it was not the Canadian tourist board but rather one of your own creations! Brilliant!!

I am so glad you enjoyed the video, which came about by iPhone technology. I came across it by accident and then decided this would be a good way of preserving moments. I have undertaken a huge photography project of organizing and archiving my father’s photos that date back to the early 1900s. My father passed 7 years ago and now I feel that I’m emotionally ready to go back and relive precious moments. We need to tell our story, even if it only for ourselves. Your book, TheStoryteller Speaks underscores the power of narrative. Thank you for joining me on the Seawall!!

Rebecca, even in comments you write with such wonderful turn of phrases that carry immense impact and meaning. Heartfelt thanks for your words about my book and how it ‘underscores the power of narrative’. Wow!!

May peace and warmth be your friends as you go through your father’s collection …it sounds like an immense task but incredibly interesting whilst also bringing untold reflections and emotions.❤️

I am so glad you enjoyed the video. I walked this section of the Vancouver Seawall on a day when the sun appeared into our usually rainy days of January. I had never seen The Drop before and was overwhelmed by its presence and positioning. What an engineering feat – the sculpture appears to hang in the air. Brilliant and thought-provoking.

I enjoyed this post again this morning. It is good to be reminded of the blessing of clean and pure water. It is getting to be rare in our world now; all the more reason to treasure and be thankful for its presence right before us. Love the little video–the drop looks as if it hangs in mid-air. Admiration for this engineering feat!

Ah Rebecca, what a magnificent subject choice, and beautiful creation “The Drop” with which you open my day, to make mention in the same breath with the magical name of Anton Chekhov. He who is one of my two or three favourite authors among the greatest of the greats. To which you link a subject so important as to the survival of our unworthy spices that of water and air on which I have written or included in a variety of my scribbles. The latest, though, is a short version which appears in my latest book of poetry, titled…

“ A Prayer ”
~ of nonbelievers ~

On a spiritual hold
Borne by believers
Of traditional bold,
Be of meagre ethics
Held mystic of old,
Suggests invocation,
Said of nonbelievers
Be an offer of thanks,
As words to declare
For a sincere prayer…

Hence has me wonder
If sufficient be there
In spite mans despair
For life giving water,
And breathable air!

The part of your publication, that resonates most with me, apart from the beauty and purpose of this creation, is the written description that explains The Drop paying homage to the element of water, and the untamable forces of nature, which is omnipresent in Vancouver.
Now if we could only devise a completely convincing creation with the like beauty of The Drop to deal with the untamable nature of man, whose unwillingness to preserve and conserve our water and air, will force the premature end to our beautiful planet. Man who has the means, is already looking to establish a commercial means to travel to other planets.

Oh, what a profound and soulful prayer, Jean-Jacques. Thank you for adding beauty to this post. Canada has the benefit of holding the world’s greatest percent of the world’s freshwater. And yet, our freshwater ecosystems are in trouble which will lead to a diminishing quality of life in our lifetime. We have a growing population that must reflect on your words:
“Hence has me wonder
If sufficient be there
In spite mans despair
For life giving water,
And breathable air!

I am grateful for artists and their creative spirits – they help us see what we need to see, to understand what we must understand.

Bravo for caring, and spreading the word through your awakening messages of interesting and thought provoking subjects, and by extension a reminder that a blase people attitude toward our life giving water and breathable air, is nothing less than committing suicide on our worl’s behalf.

Dear Rebecca, as I sit here with the rain pounding down on our forest – sheer curtains of water, for the third day in a row, filling our water tank with precious fresh water, I am so aware of the needs elsewhere.
Yes, California, Capetoun, the deserts of the world, the new deserts and pollution of water sources being created by our man-made ignorance and greed should make us so very conscious of our inter-connectness, and the fact that we have a finite amount of water in our beautiful enclosed little sphere.
Man is composed of more than ninety per cent water, and nothing grows in our world without it, and yet only those people who are short of it seem to value the very thing we cannot live without…
Your post is such a timely and beautiful reminder of the necessity and wonder of water…with love, ValerieXXX

You have highlighted the dilemma we face. What we most need for our survival it the very thing that we believe will always be available to us. Water scarcity is now felt in every continent, even as our water consumption is growing at twice the rate of population increase in our last century. We need to treat water as a scarce resource. As you pointed out – “nothing grows in our world without it.” When you live in a rainforest like we do, when there is rain, day after day, it is hard to believe that other parts of the world do not have our abundance. Thank you, Valerie, for sharing your insight – so very much appreciated. Hugs!

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Rebecca Budd

Photography - Capturing our World!

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